- Stephen Starr, Lettuce Entertain You's Rich Melman and the guys who run Legal Sea Foods and Chipotle competing for Restaurateur of the Year.
- Tom Colicchio and Marc Vetri up for Chef of the Year. And among the nominees for Rising Star Chef of the Year is our favorite bearded cooking gnome, Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill in Atlanta.
- Outstanding Restaurant semifinalists including Babbo, Vetri, Daniel, Vidalia and Spiaggia.
- Three Philadelphia contestants for New Restaurant of the Year, including Koo Zee Doo.
- Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery is up for Wine and Spirits Professional.
- Beloved-by-my-Evidence-professor Arun Sampanthavivat among the Chicagoland nominees for Great Lakes Chef of the Year. And in addition to all the great Philadelphia chefs nominated in the Mid-Atlantic region, there's room for Bryan Voltaggio as well.
- Not a lot of love for Las Vegas -- only Picasso's Julian Serrano up for Restaurant of the Year, with Joël Robuchon getting the most nods in the specialized and regional categories.
Friday, February 19, 2010
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS A ROADMAP FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS OF DINING OUT: Yesterday's announcement of the semifinalists for the 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards for chef/restaurant excellence will have a lot of familiar names for our readers across America, including:
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Ate at Eventide (Best New Restaurant) in Arlington, VA tonight - food was delicious and had fantastic cocktails. Looking forward to checking out Derek Brown's Passenger (outstanding wine & spirits professional) - he did a cocktail class for my firm's summer program - best old fashioned I've ever had.
ReplyDeleteWay to go NH, only New England state with nary a nominee...
ReplyDeleteOf the DC-area restaurants, I'm pretty shocked that Vidalia showed up. Unless it's changed drastically in the last year, it wouldn't be all that high on my list of best in DC. I can't argue with Jose Andres for Minibar, as I've rarely enjoyed meals more than ones I've had there (though that's as much for experience as quality of food). The chef at Komi and the pastry chef at CityZen are well deserved and I haven't been to either of the local Best New Restaurants.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maggie about Derek Brown (who is just awesome nearly everywhere he's been, and I'd love to check out Passenger.
Speaking of Colicchio, I'm really interested in trying his replacement for Craftsteak in NYC. Perhaps if I survive this trial in mid-March.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised about Vidalia too. I like it, but I wouldn't say it's the best restaurant in DC, let alone the country. (Its chef RJ Cooper won Best Chef Mid-Atlantic a few years ago...maybe that has something to do with it.)
ReplyDeleteJim Koch for best wines and spirits? Ghak. I love beer. All beer. Porter. Stout. Heifeweitzen. Kolsch. Lager. Small. Bitter. Whatever. I can't stand Samuel Adams.
ReplyDeleteLove the Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA and Palo Santo Marron. Their Chicory Stout is ok, but was perfect for my bacon chutney recipe.
ReplyDeleteI agree--I was really surprised re: Vidalia.
ReplyDeleteI adore Restaurant Eve so was happy to see Cathal Armstrong on the list, as well as recognition for the restuarant's wine service.
Oooh, I missed Restaurant Eve's mention (my allergy to wine and beer led me to skip that category); it's probably my favorite place to eat in the area. Though I can't speak to their wine service, they'd certainly be worth any alcohol-related mention simply for their home-made tonic w/tonic ice cubes.
ReplyDeleteI really need to try Bona Terra (near Pittsburgh) sometime. Glad to see Scott Peacock up for Chef of the Year -- Watershed is a quality place and his cookbook with Edna Lewis is one of the three or four essentials I wouldn't give up for anything.
ReplyDeleteThis list is the icing on the cake for Top Chef. How many other reality shows can claim that the people they feature get noticed almost immediately by the people who matter most in their profession?
ReplyDeleteThe Voltaggios have a really fun blog these days, too.
Pelago (a best new restaurant) is just down the street from our house and the need to try it out has just become much more urgent!
ReplyDeleteWe keep meaning to go to Eventide - I hope this won't make it too hard to get a reservation, but since it's so close, I'm sure we'll go.
ReplyDeleteLove love love Restaurant Eve. And I'm with y'all on indifference to Vidalia.
ReplyDelete